Back to School Message from Ms. Tyson

August 1, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year in DeKalb County School System. As we begin this school year, I want parents and guardians to know that student learning is the foremost priority of the Board and Interim Superintendent. The academic challenges facing this District are serious, but rest assured that each area of concern has been confronted and issues are being addressed so that students enrolled in DeKalb Schools will be able to achieve at the highest levels. We will insist that students needing improvement receive the additional services they need to improve learning, and commit to challenging students who are meeting and exceeding expectations to reach higher levels of academic performance.

It is well-documented that 21st century students must possess extensive amounts of knowledge and have strong skill-sets in order to be successful in college and the workforce. Therefore, to enable the school system to deliver on its responsibility to produce college and work-ready students, the following strategies, processes, and procedures will be utilized during 2011-2012 in all schools and departments.

• Triage the lowest performing schools and provide the knowledge base to all schools in order to establish the connection between student assessment data, government and stakeholder accountability measures, and tactical classroom instruction
• Accountability and performance training for our principals
• Deeper collaboration between school operations and curriculum and instruction
• Restructure the use of federal/state/local dollars to better impact success in low performing schools
• Conduct a salary class/compensation and efficiency study of all positions
• Engage in developing a system-wide strategic plan during 2011-2012 to ensure that the District has an ongoing systematic continuous improvement process in place
• Prepare for the district’s five-year accreditation AdvancEd SACS renewal
• Complete the 10-Year master facilities plan
• Continue implementation of Race to the Top (RT3) initiatives and expectations of the Race to the Top GA initiative

The task to improve student achievement in DeKalb looms large and is somewhat daunting, but it is not overwhelming. Our response to the condition of academics in DeKalb cannot be sugar-coated or swept under the rug. Change must occur. However, real change requires that each employee, parent, and stakeholder step up, assume responsibility for ensuring student success, and refuse to look down or look back. I am committed to our students, and I ask that you join with me on behalf of the 100,000 students of DeKalb County School System.

Sincerely,

Ramona H. Tyson
Interim Superintendent

May 9, Part 2: Ramona Tyson's report on the 2004 Ernst & Young audit and plans for a new audit

(Transcribed from the Monday, May 9 board business meeting.)

"A high level of events have occurred regarding the 2003 audit. Documents were provided on March 14. Goal is always to remain transparent and open. Although I had been led to believe that the staff had reviewed all of the documents collected related to the E&Y study in advance of that meeting, in fact, it was found that staff had only reviewed roughly 60% of the documents in our possession before I made the presentation. After learning that there were documents in our possession that were related to the study that had not been reviewed, and therefore I asked general counsel Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan to review all of the documents related to the study. In addition, upon my request, I also asked Sutherland to contact Ernst & Young direct, as representatives of the board of education and ask them to provide copies of documents related to the engagement that would have been amongst the documents provided to the school system during the course of the engagement. Ernestine (sic) and Young has provided the school system with a limited number of responsive documents in its possession. It is true that none of the 12 members from the study’s guidance team back in 2003-2005 are still employed by the district. Therefore, without any first-hand witnesses, what we know about the study remains limited to what we can determine from the documents, the emails and the other correspondence we have assembled. But we do now have a fuller picture of what transpired. The full set of documents shows the following series of events:

The district advertised an RFP for a compensation and classification study in the summer of 2003 and on September 8th, 2003, the board selected Ernst & Young to perform a study at a cost of $341,000. The initial scope of work for the project called for Ernst & Young to review the district’s entire employee compensation and classification system to develop a more streamlined and efficient classification system and to compare the district’s compensation levels to those of surrounding districts. E&Y commenced the work on the study and you have been provided with various reports the board received showing E&Y’s progress. We have identified additional status reports which are included in the revised chronology. It appears that in April, 2004, E&Y provided a preliminary estimate of cost of implementing E&Y’s recommendation. This preliminary estimate indicates that the district may have been overpaying more than 2,000 positions by more than $14 million and underpaying other positions. However, a cursory review indicates that E&Y’s assumptions were not compliant to the salary administration guidelines as required by the Georgia Department of Education for some positions, ie; teachers and media specialists.

DCSS now has possession of back up documentation for the estimate, as well as various summaries and breakdowns of the estimate. The information is being provided to the press. It is worth noting that Jim Landry, who was heading up the project for E&Y is quoting (sic) as describing the estimate as incorrect and very misleading because it was too early and preliminary to give an accurate report. In addition, the DCSS staff (unintelligible) stated that the estimate was a scattershot, and that it was not uncommon for the estimates to be revised more than a dozen times during the course of study such as the one undertaken by E&Y. This preliminary estimate appears to have been the source of most of the speculation in the press that E&Y made a final report showing the difference between the district’s actual compensation and what E&Y recommended that compensation should be. The preliminary report estimated that the district was paying some of its staff in excess of E&Y’s proposed salary ranges, but it also estimated that the district was paying others below the proposed ranges. Albeit not to the same extent. E&Y made several refinements to this cost estimate, but as I’ll discuss, it appears that no final cost and analysis was ever completed.

By spring of 2005, E&Y had largely completed its proposed redesign of the district’s classification system and was apparently still working on the other phase of the project. In other words, E&Y was still trying to determine how the district’s compensation levels compared to those in surrounding districts. But rather than completing that second phase of the project, it appears that the district and E&Y negotiated a reduced scope of work. Although several emails around this time period referred to there being a reduced scope of work, we do not have any documents showing exactly what changes were made. What we do know is that E&Y proceeded to finalize its proposed design of the employee classification system and it provided its final deliverables in August or September of 2005. Those deliverables included a documentation manual describing the methodology and the results of the study. As I reported in March, March 14, 2011, the documentation manual does not contain an analysis comparing the district’s compensation to the compensation of surrounding districts. And as far as we can determine, no such analysis was ever completed. We infer, that the reduced scope of work eliminated this phase of the study from E&Y’s project requirements. Therefore it appears that E&Y never created a final version of the preliminary estimate that has been the focus of the media’s investigation.

In September, 2005, the board was presented with and approved the classification system recommended by E&Y. By this time, district staff had confirmed that E&Y had completed all of this work under the reduced scope of work and on January 12, 2006, the district authorized payment of E&Y’s final invoice. From the review of the information, again the compensation analysis was never completed.

Now today, as a part of the transitional plan, the next steps are to complete the following over the next 6-9 months with a direct focus on central office positions and administration salaries:

• By May 30, 2011, we will develop a request for proposal to conduct a compensation study partnering either with a college or university or a company that specializes in organizational structure/compensation study.
• By June, 2011, I will transition this plan to the new superintendent and I will include the documents that were found under the E&Y study for full disclosure and receipt to the new superintendent.
• By the end of June we will ask the legal team to review the RFP.
• By July of 2011, a public advertisement of the RFP will occur.
• By August of 2011, the RFP will be acknowledged with vendors that will reply to that RFP.
• By September of 2011, the RVP evaluation and vendor selection will occur.
• And by October, board approval and award to such vendor.

All of this is subject to change dependent on the new superintendent, but I did want to give the board the complete commitment to follow through on the charge of seeing that the study is begun."

===
It was revealed in the Q&A that there will be four file boxes on the study in the board office for the board to review.

DeKalb's Ramona Tyson makes list of influential black woman

(This is from the AJC - I'm sure he meant "women"...)

Anyway -

Ramona Tyson, DeKalb County Schools interim superintendent, was selected as one of Atlanta Business League’s 100 Top Black Women of Influence. Tyson along with the other honorees will be recognized at a breakfast Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. The list singles out women who are leading entrepreneurs or have influence over large public bodies. Read the entire list at www.atlantabusinessleague.org .

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalbs-ramona-tyson-makes-844541.html

Ramona's Demand: The Fix Is In?

Jeff Dickerson

"The Demand" by DCSS Interim Supt. Ramona Tyson for a 44% raise that extends to 2012 is a hot topic. Some parents/taxpayers are appalled, some are supportive, but this is definitely one of the most talked about news stories in DeKalb and the metro area right now, receiving much local TV coverage, in addition to the AJC. A superintendent demanding a 44% increase when the school system may be facing a $50 million budget hole (after it faced a $100 million budget hole last year) deserves the attention and scrutiny.

There is only one metro area popular politics-theme on local TV: The Georgia Gang. It's an important show, watched by most elected officials, bloggers, the behind the scenes crowd, etc., and it clearly shapes political debate locally and throughout the state.

On today's show, after discussing DeKalb's MAJOR increase in water & sewer rates, and CEO Burrell Ellis proposing a substantial property tax increase, of course moderator and DeKalb resident Dick Williams brought up the Ramona Tyson pay increase (aka "The Demand").

As I stated earlier, The Georgia Gang is extremely influential. Panelist Jeff Dickerson is now a highly paid spokesperson for the DeKalb County School System. For some reason, when his name and title is shown on the show, it has "Jeff Dickerson, Atlanta Tribune", even though he is nowhere to be found on the Atlanta Tribune site.

He is now the opposite of a journalist. He is a PR flack who purposedly tries to shape news coverage. In this tough economy, he gets paid handsomely to do so (from taxpayer dollars).

Whenever The Georgia Gang discusses the county school system, property taxes (which the school system receives 70% of), etc., Dickerson OF COURSE has an ethical duty, and a duty to the show's viewers, to disclose that he is a (highly) paid school system employee.

Instead...on today's show, he defends and justifies Tyson's demand for 44% pay increase and a 300% increase in her monthly expenses...WITHOUT DISCLOSING THAT HE WORKS FOR RAMONA TYSON???!!! She figuratively signs his paycheck!!

It's been a loooong time since I sat in my college ethics class, but any DCSS high school student can easily identify that Jeff Dickerson acted in an incredibly unethical manner, professionally and personally.

It's mind boggling that a pretty darn solid television news affiliate allowed Jeff Dickerson to intentionally shape the controversial debate regarding the Tyson contract demands without any disclosure. Fox 5 Atlanta is better than that. They really do a nice job without local news coverage and with their I-Team investigations.

Dickerson is at least pretty upfront on The Georgia Gang website that he is now a flack, not a practicing journalist:

Jeff Dickerson e-mail: jdmedia@comcast.net is president of Dickerson Communications, a public affairs firm that provides public relations, issues-management and media consulting services to private- and public-sector clients.

Dickerson Communications was launched in 2000 and specializes in crisis communications. The firm has helped some of Atlanta’s most prominent organizations manage public crises, including Coca Cola, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, MARTA, Delta Air Lines, AT&T, several state agencies, the Morehouse School of Medicine, the Atlanta Public Schools, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Grady Memorial Hospital and many others.

It is very telling that he does not list that he is currently well compensated as the DCSS' lead spokesperson.

So anyone unfamilar to Jeff Dickerson watches today's show and says, hmmm, this guy must be a respected journalist to be on the top politics TV show in Georgia, and he supports the Ramona Tyson Demand, so it must be legit, right?
But how do you think that same viewer would react to hearing Dickerson's strong defense of "The Demand" with the disclosure that Dickerson makes over $2,000 a week and Ramona Tyson is his boss???

I am spellbound by the complete lack of any disclosure, and the lack of professional and personal ethics displayed by Dickerson. Yep, I freely admit that I am so jaded by the last few years of scandal and fiscal management by DCSS that I'm hardly a fair judge. Am I wrong to be dismayed? Was Jeff Dickerson purposedly hired by the Central Office and BOE after they fired the respected Julie Rhame and three other DCSS public relations staff (of course only keeping Philandra Guillory, the daughter of former but still powerful BOE member Frances Edwards) because Dickerson can shape the debate via his valuable TV perch on The Georgia Gang?

Let's hear your take, DCSW readers? Jeff Dickerson: To Disclose or Not Disclose?

Watch the video clip from the Georgia Gang here -

Wednesday's ELPC meeting notes

Wednesday, Emory Lavista Parent Council hosted their monthly meeting. The speaker was Ramona Tyson, our interim superintendent who gave the annual "State of the System" address. Below is a compilation of notes taken by two of our regular bloggers, Sagamore7 and fedupindcss.

There was a large crowd that filled entire cafeteria. Board members in attendance were McChesney, Redovian and Speaks (only Redovian spoke, briefly, towards the end). Huge crowd from CO, including Marcus Turk, Beasley, and the new auditor. Mary Margaret Oliver and Fran Millar was there as well, and Scott Holcomb (who will replace Kevin Levitas) and Nancy Jester.

Marshall said the next ELPC in October will be at Briarlake and will cover the process of redistricting (not what will actually be done, but how the process works).

Tyson was very professional, very well spoken, but made it clear that she is in crisis management mode and not happy about her lot in life. Key points on this:

• The first 5 ½ months seems to her as it has been 5 ½ years.
• She was naive about crisis management. She didn’t expect how much of her time it would consume.
• She wants to be held accountable to the best of her ability.
• She will always give the facts when asked and will not EVER hide the truth.
• Against the wishes of her staff, she answers her own email.
• 
  

Here is how the talk (one hour) broke down:

--Movement of data center: Before she got into the State of the System address, she wanted to address a situation that she has had to deal with this week. MIS Department move and the $5,000,000 costs.

Ms. Tyson stated that everyone was getting in an uproar over the project. What was published on the website was the wrong cost analysis. They aren’t going to spend all that money on renovating the building; they just need to move the data servers to a secure environment. [When available, we will publish the new, improved, correct projected line item estimate for the move.]

When the decision was made to move buildings A&B to Mtn. Industrial (which was purchased under SPLOST II), there was no money to do anything until SPLOST III and Mtn. Industrial sat empty for years. Tyson said when the renovation started, she told "people" that they also needed to make sure the data center was included in that move, but no one listened to her and so it was not included in the budget. The data center was thus left behind in the now abandoned A&B, and it holds all personnel records, student records, vendor payment info, and the entire telecom system for DCSS (she added that all DCSS phones from every school connect back to the data center, including 911 calls, so they all have to route through there!). Additionally, the entire fiber optic network for DCSS runs out of there (she was very proud that DCSS owns it, and does not lease it like other systems; she said for once "we have something Gwinnett wants"). So, if the Data center falls apart, the whole system crumbles, and this is a risk if it is left in a decommissioned building.

Tyson said there are no extras, that all they are doing in paying for moving the engineering of it all to Mtn. Ind. The plan that was out there and got to the blog was a "cadillac plan" that the board had put together. There will be no data center "wish list" items [editorial: why did they even propose one as a board request for funds?]. The money for it will not come out of the $40 million surplus, but out of 'contingency' [editorial: how is that not SPLOST money?], and they hope the sale of A&B will pay for it all (A&B are valued at $7.3 million, but don't expect to get that). [Note: previously, we reported that Marcus Turk informed us that the sale of buildings goes into the regular capital funds (not SPLOST construction funds) and can roll into general operations if needed.  So, using the proceeds from the sale to cover the cost is not possible, according to Turk.]

--SACS report: a huge staff worked on it 24/7 for 45 days, said she will not hide the truth, and will give all the facts. SACS said they will respond in 30 days, which she said will be around 10/10/10 [interesting date], and she is very anxious. Of the 243 DCSS policies and procedures that are in place, 4 of them occupied DCSS’s time and attention.

1. Ethics
2. Conflicts of Interest
3. Purchasing
4. Whistleblower

She said she read it 19 times and it went through multiple drafts. She also proudly admitted she withheld it from the AJC, because she wanted SACS to see it first. Tyson said she talked to Dr. Elgart regularly about the progress of the report [!], and gave her explanation for the quick turnaround of the posting of the 4 policy changes (whistleblower, nepotism, etc.). Her story is that normally they would give 30 days for comment, but that they wanted to get them approved and into the SACS report to show that they were making a good faith effort to move forward with revising the school policies (which have not been looked at since 2000).

--Culture of DCSS: (her term): the pattern of employee self-dealing shocked her. She couldn't talk too much about it because of hearings, privacy laws, etc., but they are making it clear what you can and cannot do if you draw a DCSS paycheck.

--Whistleblower rule: employees need to feel comfortable to talk about issues to the administration, but they also need to know that it isn't a free for all to get back at people (like your prinicpal) that you don't like.

--Superintendent search: Board voted to bid for search firm, and the bids were unsealed as she spoke. The vote will take place at the October board meeting.

--Budget: DCSS will get $18 million from the $400 million GA got for the Jobs Education Act (stimulus to cover salaries and benefits at the school level). It will come in two payments between now and the end of October. She is going to work the Turk (!) to bring relief to the schools. Possibilities include releasing furlough days, step increases, cost of living adjustments. The planning for FY 2012 has begun and we should expect more cuts. They built this year's cuts that they expect the state to announce mid year into their budget already, so they don't expect that they will have to do any adjustments in January.

--$40 million SPLOST III surplus: will be dedicated to school needs. We are also eligible for $58 million in school construction bonds to go with the $40 million, and the board will decide on whether to accept it. The Board will sit with the capital improvements people (unclear who they are) in county to decide who to spend it. The $58 million in QSCAB bonds that the federal government will issue to us at very low interest rates. (We have no money to pay them back currently.)

--Outsourcing: Turk (him again!) is working with Tyson to look at how to outsource CO duties (examples included maintenance, operations, transportation, food services). There are 3 or 4 firms in GA who do this, and they are researching them. One issue is that they know that people (who? Board member relatives?) are worried that this will displace a number of DCSS employees, but the word is that many of them get hired back by the outsourcer (after they pass a drug test and if they are found to be competent).

--Facilities & Operations: DCSS wants “Shared Leadership” in the months of September and October. “Shared Leadership is asking the community about redistricting and engaging us in solving the challenges about consolidation.” [Sounds like Jeff Dickerson might have helped write that one.]

In November DCSS will present to the BOE their “Shared” recommendations. That is when the BOE goes back to the community and presents the recommendations to the public and asks for further recommendations to go back to DCSS.

Then in February 2011, DCSS will make suggestions for redistricting and consolidation.

They are going to hire Dr. Humbolt and his company, who recently assisted St. Louis Missouri in redistricting and consolidation, to help in this process. [I haven’t googled him yet.] Along with Dr. Humbolt’s recommendations, DCSS will present their plan along with a STRONG marketing and PR plan. [I guess this is where Jeff Dickerson gets paid again.]

I don’t know if Dr. Humbolt’s company does this also, but Dr. Tyson stated that DCSS is going to hire a 3rd party company to analyze every school in the system. They will analyze the following for recommendations for SPLOST IV.

• The existing school structure and buildings for age and future sustainability.
• Buildings and Operations.

This will be part of DCSS’s “Local Facilities 2013-2017 plan.” Future renovations are based on a “Needs for proper learning environment basis.”

--2020 master facilities plan: it is now on the website. Another third party company will come in to look at every school to see needs from an engineering POV, and this will be the road map for (wait for it...) SPLOST IV!! [Sounds like they are creating a "wish list" for various constituencies to make them think they will get something].

--Remaining focus for her tenure: the new Super will need 3-5 years to fix all this. What she wants to focus on is the following:

• Crisis management
• New culture of DCSS, giving more power back to principals.
• School consolidation/redistricting (she said it will happen, and she won't wait to do it).
• Comprehensive policy revisions.
• Budget
• Teacher support and effectiveness

She stated that she wants to create a sense of “Principal Empowerment”. The majority of all principals have 5 or less years experience at that level.

At this point she introduced Gary Babst, the new internal auditor, and touted his experience with GM.

[I will add, in an entire hour of talking, she did not once mention academics, curriculum, or how to improve student achievement.]

===

Here is the Q&A:

Faye Andresen did not ask a question, but instead spoke to the importance of getting county business and political leaders together to counter a possible negative SACS report. She pointed out that we do not want to become another Clayton County, and we do not want our high school students to suffer the consequences.

A woman who identified herself as an Oak Grove/HMS parent said that parents want to know what they can do to help DCSS with their facility issues. Tyson responded that she will have DCSS work with every principal to set up meetings at the schools to present and discuss facilities issues (this sounds a lot like the old Need Assessment committees).

A high school student was there; it was difficult to hear him, but he had a specific personal question, and then he asked about why the Chamblee AYP transfers were put in the annex instead of at Chamblee proper. He also asked why the schools that were heavily renovated or built new did not make AYP, while the schools that made AYP are old and unrenovated (ah, the guilelessness of youth). On the latter, Tyson said that there is no correlation, that schools were renovated or built based solely on safety issues (!), and it was just ironic that it worked out the way it did. There is, she said, no relationship between physical plant and AYP. As to the Chamblee Annex issue, when she found out that over 200 students had chosen it as their first choice, she looked at the logistics and decided that it would be unsafe for the students. While the fire marshal approved the extra students, she said that it would be too difficult and unsafe to do class changes, get to lunch, and get to lockers with the extra bodies. She took full, personal responsibility for making this decision.

Shayna Steinfeld asked her to unbury the 2002 salary audit done by Dr. Brown's administration. It had been paid for but was never used. Tyson said she plans to look hard at CO salaries, and there will need to be a bridge between the '02 audit and a newer audit. She admitted the audit got buried, and said one should have been done every five years (meaning there should have been one in 2007).

Finally, someone asked her to please speak about academics, and how she intends to address student achievement. Tyson passed this question off to Morcease Beasley, head of instruction. He said there is a 7 step process on teaching and engaging. However, since it was not exactly clear what they were you will unfortunately not read about them here. The word "rigor" was used, though. Beasley said he would work with principals to ensure that teachers are ready to move students to "higher order" thinking skills in preparation for the coming national standards.

The last question was about why school starts to early in August, given that we are in financial straits and must spend a lot of money on A/C, expensive August gas, etc. Tyson said that this is an "age old" problem [editorial comment: an age in this case is about 10 years]. Savannah tried to do start after Labor Day for two years, and had to throw in the towel because the state would give no latitude in its testing window to accommodate them. So the metro calendars are held hostage to state testing windows, and it is up to the state (DOE? Legislature?) to change this.

Tyson wrapped up by admitting that communication between DCSS and parents is not good, and she said that once they get that fixed it will help with parent involvement. She admitted that they had offered the PR job to some people who turned it down because the salary was too low, so they are pursuing outsourcing that, instead.

The mad dash for the SPLOST cash

Check out item F-17 on the agenda for the board's business meeting this Monday evening, September 13:

17. William Bradley Bryant Center (WBBC) Renovation Approval
Presented by: Ms. Barbara M. Colman, Interim CIP Operations Officer

Exactly what is going on here? This is a newly listed project slated to be completed using some of the "savings" from SPLOST 3 projects that Ms. Colman refers to as "contingency" funds. This is a pet project of Ms. Tyson's. She is quoted as saying that she has been trying to get this project done for years, having done "cartwheels" and "backflips" to no avail. But now - she is in charge and her favorite project has cut to the front of the line. This project was never, ever mentioned or listed anywhere on any SPLOST budget or promotional brochure before voting. I am under the impression that the school board, by law, must use the sales tax dollars as promised - am I wrong? Who keeps changing the rules?

Ms. Tyson stated at the Dunwoody-Chamblee Parent Council meeting that the newly "found" $40 million in cost savings from under-budget SPLOST 3 programs will be allocated for projects by "her and the board". After that, she joked that "the hands went up!" What?! This is not a free for all. And this is certainly no joke. We've had a lengthy list of "needs" for a very VERY long time. This is not random money suddenly available to be used for those in power's favorite projects! This money should be put back into the till to address the very next SCHOOL project waiting patiently in this very long line. Students and their teachers should remain first and foremost on the priority list when identifying how to spend this money.

Ms. Tyson actually went on to state that she hoped everyone would vote for a SPLOST 4 because we still have so much need. She reiterated that in 2006, we identified almost $2 Billion of need in our school buildings - which we have collected $533 million of SPLOST 3 dollars for thus far to add to SPLOSTs 1&2. She even ticked off a laundry list of "needs" like roofs, HVAC, paint, carpeting, computers, windows and other major areas of deterioration. Then, I must ask, how can she disengage from the fact that she is cutting in line for this money—money that voters taxed on themselves for promised school renovations—in order to fund her own special, long-desired project at her own WBBC? I hope she will at least go around to the schools with the leaking roofs, mold, mildew, broken toilets and stairs and personally explain to them how she came to decide that the money their community paid in taxes to fix their buildings is now instead, going to fund some big data storage facility - because she wanted it!

If SPLOST proves such a temptation that even Ramona Tyson has fallen victim to wielding her power in order to grab her own personal handful of cash for her own department (that she is supposed to return to after her stint as interim super) then perhaps SPLOST has been the nail in our coffin. This school board has taken an initiative that could have profoundly impacted our children and brought magnificent change to our facilities and instead, so far, they have squandered much of it, and used it to sink us faster and deeper to the bottom. This board cannot be trusted with anymore SPLOST funds and I will personally not be supporting a SPLOST 4 in the future.

Color me disappointed, but SPLOST clearly represents the "love of money" and provides an irresistible temptation to hoard, squander, misuse, and abuse the hard-earned tax dollars of the everyday, trusting people of DeKalb. We have two top dogs under indictment proving so - costing taxpayers dearly in legal fees - both at the school level and the county level.

No more SPLOST.

===

UPDATE: Ok, so I went to the trouble of reviewing the board meeting online. Here's what I found out -

The "move" of the data storage from building A to the WBBC will cost $3.5 million.

We have NO IDEA why this was not moved waaaay back when the rest of building A was moved. (I will assume here that this is how they were able to spend SO much money on the new digs at Mtn Industrial - they didn't spend any money to move the entire data dept.)

So, with apologies to Ms Tyson, I get what she said now - which she couched as "saying as delicately as possible". She pleaded with everyone when the original move was done to include moving the data system - and she was completely ignored. (That would be by Dr Lewis, Pat Pope and the Board of Education I assume.)

So now, instead of having responsibly spent their allotment for moving building A by moving ALL of building A (and instead moving their own offices to plush new digs complete with $2,000 chairs), we have no choice but to go back and spend an additional $3.5 million to complete the move that should have been completed when the rest of the building was moved. (The data department is the only department left in the building.)

And yes, this money is coming out of SPLOST 3 funds -- funds that voters approved to be used as promoted very hard before the vote -- to upgrade our school buildings, HVAC, roofs, etc, as listed. As these projects have come in under budget due to lower construction costs, the unspent money goes into a large fund called "Program Contingency" (as opposed to 'project contingencies' which exist for unexpected cost overruns on each project).

The board is supposed to go on a retreat to decide how to spend this "Program Contingency" fund of $35-40 million or more. I would sincerely hope that they take the original list of promises along and fulfill as many of those as possible first and foremost.  Amid this money grab, the Chamblee High School community is reeling from the news that their project has been put 'on hold' and that 'if' there is a SPLOST 4, they may see construction in 2015. Is that fair?

I don't think it's fair that this WBBC project was allowed to dip into the Project Contingency funds when no one else could - they all have to wait until the board decides at the retreat. (I would have encouraged the board at this retreat to consider outsourcing all of the data storage.) I would have hoped that this data department move to the WBBC should have at least been part of those retreat discussions and competed for placement right alongside the list of projects like unfinished roofs, HVAC, classroom technology, renovation and restroom projects in our many needy school buildings.

In Mom We Trust

I remember when I was a kid, (the last of five in our family) during dinner, I would sometimes ask my mother if I could have a little more. If the pot was empty, my mother would pick up her plate and spoon her own helping onto my plate. She never balked, she never hesitated. She didn't complain, or question, or tell me I was greedy. When I would see her lift that plate, I would be embarrassed and beg her not to give me her own food, but she would have none of that. That one selfless gesture -- so readily repeated -- did so much to build trust between my mother and me. My mother took her job as CNO (Chief Nuturing Officer) very seriously. And, I always knew I could count on my mother.

It was disheartening to see at the BOE meeting a parent reduced to asking the full Board for a simple, reliable copy machine for her children's school. But, what was even more disheartening was Ms. Tyson's response moments later when Mr. Womack publicly requested Ms. Tyson to just give the school a new copier. To paraphrase, she said she would get on it first thing the next morning, she would "get the facts."

The implication was clear. The response was so typical of the Central Office when a parent or teacher or community member brings them a concern or problem. The parent must be lying! Or over-exaggerating. Or being dramatic. Or just plain crazy. Somehow, the staff always has the "facts" and the customer is always wrong.

I believe they do this so they can set up a classic he said/she said situation. And, I was right. Facilities claimed they had been responsive to the school's needs. And then, they offered the ultimate shut-down. We don't have any money! The pot is empty.

Well, I believe a CEO's job description isn't too far off a CNO's. When there's nothing left, it's time to take the shirt off your own back. Fork the food off your own plate. Make do with less for yourself.

Oh mom, how I miss you.

Stakeholder Input On Board Of Education Policy Revisions

August 26, 2010

MEMO TO: All DeKalb County School System Employees

FROM: Mrs. Ramona Tyson, Interim Superintendent

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you that the DeKalb County School System (DCSS) has undertaken a Comprehensive Policy Revision Initiative (CPRI). The CPRI will consist of an internal team of DCSS employees conducting an exhaustive and comprehensive review of all Board policies, regulations, and exhibits published in the on-line policy manual. Presently, the DeKalb County Board of Education has approximately 250 policies. This comprehensive review will be completed based on a strategically aligned 18 to 24 month timeline. As a result of CPRI, all policies and the associated regulations and exhibits will be reviewed and placed in one of the following categories:

1. No Action Required
2. Revise
3. Eliminate
4. Create a New Policy

As a valued stakeholder of the DeKalb County School System, and in compliance with Board of Education policies regarding soliciting input on policy revisions, we invite you to participate in this critical process by providing your input as we begin this process.

The initial phase consists of four critical policies that have been fast-tracked for Board approval and adoption on August 31, 2010. These policies include the Purchasing Policy, Code of Ethics Policy for Employees, Staff Conflict of Interest Policy, and Whistleblower Policy. These four policies will be available for you to provide comments from August 26 through midnight, August 28, 2010. Due to the criticality and need to fast track these policies, this initial phase consists of a short window of opportunity to provide input; however, as the process continues to move forward, ample time will be afforded for stakeholder comments.

In order to provide input, a link has been created on the DCSS home page. Once you reach the home page at www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/, you will see a link entitled “Click Here for Pending Policies”. Once you click that link, you will be re-directed to the eBoard home page. There you will see a section on the right side of the web page titled “Pending Policies” and the policies for review will be listed underneath. Upon clicking the link for the policy, you will be able to read the pending policy and at the bottom of the policy submit your name, email address, and desired comments. The comments will be compiled and submitted to the Board of Education.

Thank you in advance for your time and valuable input into this important process.

===

Editor's note: I noticed there is also a new link for the Superintendent Search.

Revisiting the past with Ramona Tyson

So, I was reviewing the minutes from the Emory-Lavista Parent Council meeting last April when Ms. Tyson first addressed the group in the midst of the budget cuts. I found the comments interesting, in that, of the promises made, I don't see many that have come to light. Read what I've copied and pasted and see if you think these comments have been adequately addressed over the last 4 months. I find these issues particularly troubling: There was only an $88 million budget shortfall, but as we all know, the board made $104 million in cuts in anticipation of further cuts by the state. (When those cuts come, lets remind them that they have already been accounted for.) Also, the plan was to consolidate schools (stating that we have 11,000 'empty' seats) in order to recover state funding (this has not been done, as we all know, due to public outcry and Sarah Copelin-Wood's meddling). Tyson states here that 152 central office positions were going to be cut. Were they? Or did these end up being cuts to the schoolhouse - as in, technology, parapros, media clerks, etc. Cuts were made to central, but 152? Lastly, she stated that the BOE would be communicating with the public, and as we are all painfully aware, virtually no one has communicated with the public (unless you count threatening to 'slug' a reporter).

Interim Superintendant Tyson, described herself as a dedicated DCSS professional of 22 years who had experience with IBM at the request of the DCSS administration. She noted her commitment to her family, especially as a mother of two elementary school aged children. She stated that her goal was to do the best job possible while staying focused on the core business of DCSS and the students of DCSS. Specifically, she shared her goal to rebuild the trust of all stakeholders and especially the morale of DCSS employees.

She noted the pressing matter of balancing the budget for FY 2011 by June 30. DCSS BOE must approve a balanced budget noting the dire circumstance of the current economic situation. After the budget is approved, school consolidation must be addressed, and then the transition issues of current students in addition to preparing for the new students. This all must be done with a “laser-like focus on day-to-day operations.”

Ms. Tyson noted that there is presently an $88,000,000 shortfall and a DCSS proposal to reduce spending by $115, 000,000. This greater cut is in anticipation of historical state education funding cuts that occur during the summer time and negatively impact county budgets. While, DCSS prepares budgets, Ms. Tyson highlighted that ultimate decision making rests with the DCSS BOE.

Ms. Tyson spent some time clarifying information about DCSS employees. She noted that there are 15,859 employees of whom 13,873 are FT and 1986 are PT. She noted that 14,620 are school based employees and 1239 are in the central office which translates to approximately 7.8 % of central office employees. Of the central office employees, 982 are paid out of the general budget with local dollars and 257 are paid with federal dollars. Proposed budget reductions include the lay-offs of approximately 152 central office positions by 6-30-10.

While noting that budget reductions are necessary, compliance issues must be met to ensure funding and adherence to laws and standards. Ms. Tyson reiterated that her administration and the board would address these matters. Even after initial cuts, Ms. Tyson noted the on-going need to examine the central office structure from a business perspective in order to determine the need for additional cuts.

Interim Superintendant Tyson directed the audience to examine the school consolidation plans that are posted on the DCSS website http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/redistricting/. She noted that because of 11,000 empty seats in DCSS there is a corresponding loss of state entitlement dollars which places an undue burden on the district. She noted a recommendation to transition from middle and high schools having 2 planning periods per day to one planning period (i.e. from a 7 period day to a 6 period day) as a significant cost saving recommendation. Additionally, she noted that during this trying time that testing integrity has been a priority.

For the next 3-6 months, an uphill climb will continue with distractions. Ms. Tyson reiterated her commitment to improve integrity and keep distractions separated from the core business of education. She noted that the BOE will be communicating with the media and that she will be focusing on day-to-day operations.

Plan to attend the next ELPC meeting and ask Ms. Tyson to respond to questions regarding the progress of her promises.

Emory Lavista Parent Council
Join us at 9:15 am
(refreshments begin at 8:45 am)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Oak Grove Elementary School
1857 Oak Grove Road, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30307

Our guest speaker Ms. Ramona Tyson,
Interim Superintendent for DeKalb County Schools,
presents the State of the System

===

UPDATE: Ms. Tyson has already visited with the Dunwoody-Chamblee Parent Council.  Dunwoody Mom has a report available at her blog, Dunwoody School Daze.

The April 21, 2010 ELPC Town Hall Meeting

Frank. Open. Knowledgeable. Articulate.

The Emory Lavista Parent Council hosted a town hall meeting this morning featuring our interim superintendent, Ramona Tyson. I thought of a flood of adjectives during the meeting to describe my impression of Tyson and the new direction and determination the school system seems to be exhibiting. Tyson and her staff are concerned. They are aware. They are working very hard. Really.

Sincere. Focused. Determined. Caring.

I think Tyson is an excellent choice for an interim leader. She is a mother of two young children in DeKalb schools—she wants them to succeed. She plans to ‘focus on the core business’ with a ‘laser light’ and work to restore trust and rebuild morale. I believed her.

These are some of the tough decisions on the plate:

Balancing the budget for FY 2011.

This must, by law, be done by June 30. We are certain to have an $88 million shortage, however she recommends that the board plan for $115 million. It is the board’s final decision, however, in the past, the board has chosen to accommodate the immediate shortage, and then consistently been hit with more reductions from the state over the summer. This requires emergency budget changes and Tyson wants to just go ahead and plan for that now. Smart.

School Consolidations.

We have 11,0000 empty seats in our system. The board discovered that three schools—Heritage ES, Briarcliff HS and Hooper Alexander—although they have been closed are still counted by the state as having “open seats”. The board plans to take these schools out of commission, which will take the seats off the list. This will reduce the 11,000 to around 9,000.

Next, we have several elementary schools operating at far below the magic number of 450, where state funding kicks in. Consolidating those schools will reduce the number of “open seats” another 2,000 to around 7,000.

We must recover as much as we can from the state. Property tax collections are down and can no longer fill the gap. The state has steadily decreased school funding to the point that funding has flip-flopped. The state used to pay 60% and the county covered 40%. Now, it’s exactly the opposite. We can’t afford the luxury of tiny schools funded entirely with local dollars. The money is just not there and Tyson, staff and the board have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of DeKalb.

Transportation.

The staff recommends implementing the full transportation savings plan, meaning eliminating all magnet and extra-curricular transportation. They are also looking into electric buses, which are manufactured by a company in China, as well as hybrid buses in order to save fuel costs.

Central Office.

Tyson gave us some numbers. We have 15,859 employees, 13,873 are full-time and 1,906 are part-time. Of these, 14,620 are school-based and 1,239 are central office staff. The current proposed budget cut eliminates 152 of these central office positions, but they will continue to evaluate and streamline the central office and other areas of administration.

Business-like. Engaging. Prepared. Capable.

Overall, the one take-away message stated by Tyson was, “We need to protect services that are closest to students.” She wants to do a forensic audit to take a hard look at the programs that are not working. She understands that the system is asking a lot of teachers and wants to offer things in return, such as eliminating some of their paperwork, creating a venue for communication and creating a classroom environment that allows teachers to do their job.

Overall, Tyson exhibited a deep understanding of the issues at the fore. She reads the news reports but warned us that she has made the decision not to comment to the media. She can’t control how what she says is reported, so she will choose not to comment. She was impressive in her commitment to take the very serious legal and other issues about to come to fruition and place them aside, with her focus remaining on the children.

She certainly didn’t sugar-coat the fact that the “train” is coming. We will be in for a world of bad press here very shortly. A board member even indicated that indictments will most likely be filed soon. This is not going to be pretty. But Tyson has steeled her team and they plan to put on their blinders, allowing all "that" to live on the sidelines, while they execute their “laser light focus” on the task of rebuilding our school system. She wants to “put the students in a cocoon and push through”.

And I believed her.

Light.